Friday, April 24, 2020

Poetry Friday: The Skinny

April's challenge was to re-visit the *Skinny  (a poetic form I skipped last June when the Poetry Sisters first tried it.)  The rules are:

1) eleven lines
2) second, sixth, and tenth lines are identical.
3)  all lines are one word, except the first and last, which may be longer, but must use the same words (rearranging is permitted.)

Our theme was supposed to be Spring, foresight, or looking ahead (since we've been alternating with hindsight, or looking back). At the moment, prophecy seems foolish.  I stuck with the now.  






And then...because I couldn't pass up the chance to tease April,  just a little...I wrote another, more Spring-themed one. I took my inspiration from the fact that my entire family (even the dog, when we had one) celebrate April birthdays...and so do many, many of my poetry friends.  It's kind of an Everything month. 






If you'd like to try a skinny, here's the handy outline Andi supplied for us:



1

2 *

3

4

5

6 *

7

8

9

10 *

11


* The Skinny was created by Truth Thomas in the Tony Medina Poetry Workshop at Howard University in 2005.

More skinnys (yes, that's the plural) from my Poetry Sisters:

Tanita
Tricia
Andi
Liz
Laura
Rebecca

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wandering

9 comments:

  1. I love these VERY different skinnys, Sara. The first made me think, but the second made me smile. Thank you, and happy birthday, my poetry friend!

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    1. Thank you, Laura! I felt a need to try more than one, and I'm glad I did.

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  2. My favorite is the April bagel one. Perfectly describes this month's behavior! Glad we had fun with this together.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad, too! That phrase just came to me and made me laugh so I went with it.

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  3. The first poem made me a bit teary, but that seems to be life these days. I'm trying not to focus on what we are missing.
    The second poem made me laugh with its truths.
    Happy birthday!

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  4. Yes, April is an everything bagel, isn't it? We're nearly done chewing and still not quite sure what's in our mouths...

    Meanwhile, happy birthday! I love that you and Rebecca's bdays are so close.

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    Replies
    1. And Shakespeare...don't forget that ol' bard. I usually love April, but this one has been odd...truly an Everything kind of month.....trying to enjoy what I can.

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  5. Love your skinnys. Love the line, "mulch-whiff" - yes, that's April in nose-ful where I live!

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  6. Wow! I enjoyed both of these even though they are so different in feeling. You show the versatility of this form of few words.

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